Scouting the 2013 NFL Draft: Texas A&M vs Texas (2011)

At least six potential first round picks in the 2013 NFL Draft were on the field for the 2011 Texas vs Texas A&M game. Luckily for scouts, four of them happened to be matched up against each other for the majority of the night.

#10 OLB Sean Porter
-Standing up at OLB.
-Good jam on slot receiver, looks comfortable walking out on receivers.
-Controlled by TE on the edge, couldn’t shed block.
-Good power on bull rush, got under the LT’s pads and pushed him into pocket.
-Shoots in between two blockers and hits RB in backfield.
-Bull rushes right through RB, but loses balance and goes to the ground.
-Cut down by RB in pass protection.
-Clears hips around RT and gets at the QB’s feet for the sack. Quick first step.
-Unblocked, bends around edge, sandwiches RB for TFL.
-Man coverage on WR, coming from the OLB position, gets there quickly.
-Powerful bull rush, walks OT onto QB.
-Shoots inside gap, walled out off by TE.
-Not fooled by play-action, locates ball quickly and makes big hit for TFL.
-Quick move inside, comes free and puts big hit on quarterback.

Overview: Porter showed his versatility and explosiveness against Texas, looking comfortable against the run, dropping in coverage and rushing the passer. He isn’t quite as sudden as Von Miller was, but he’ll get a lot of first round consideration.

#94 DE/OLB Damontre Moore
-Standing up at OLB.
-Beats TE off the line with inside move, crashes and wraps up for no gain.
-Quick off the ball, falls down trying to bend around corner.
-Dropped into coverage, didn’t look uncomfortable.
-Good jam on slot receiver, perfect depth on his zone drop.
-Unblocked, crashes down the line and puts a hit on RB behind the line.
-Keeps outside shoulder clean, sheds block and wraps up on sweep.
-Doubled outside, dips back in and gets a piece of the scrambling QB.
-Runs right by LT, little hesitation move and buries the QB for a sack.
-Sheds block by TE, assists on tackle.
-Misses two chances on same play to sack QB, wreaking havoc in the backfield.
-Sniffs out bubble screen and breaks up the pass as WR bobbles it.
-Good zone drop, right on top of WR on crossing route, solid tackle.
-Takes on FB, sheds block, assists on tackle.
-Not letting OT get his hands on him in pass protection.

Overview: Moore was just as impressive as Porter against Texas. He got consistent pressure off the edge and was able to make some plays in coverage as well.

#76 OT Luke Joeckel
-Lined up at left tackle or overload TE on right side.
-Perfect hand placement, controls Jeffcoat easily on run play.
-Looks comfortable early in pass-protection, slides his feet effortlessly against the quick Jeffcoat.
-Jeffcoat can’t get off blocks, Joeckel latches on and it is over. Finishing every block.
-Chips DE and then picks up blizting OLB with ease.
-Man-handling Jeffcoat, pushing him wherever he wants him to.
-Gets to the second level effectively, likes to hit.
-Beat initially on his outside, but recovers to push DE past pocket.
-On rollout to the left, picks up late stunt easily and mirrors DT.
-Fooled a little on blitz, doesn’t get a good pop on blitzer and ball is batted down.
-Looks very natural in movement, making things look easy.
-Not content to push rushers past the pocket, sticks with his blocks.
-Very effective cutting defensive linemen.
-Unable to get to linebacker coming on run blitz, didn’t have much of a chance.
-Positions himself very well, using angles very well.
-Mirrors Jeffcoat easily, doesn’t buy lazy inside fake – stays on his line.
-Beat outside on jerk move by OLB, left reaching.

Overview: Joeckel was consistently great throughout the game, effectively shutting down Jackson Jeffcoat. Once he got his hands on a defender, it was over. Joeckel could get looks inside the top 20 picks if he continues to improve in 2012.

#75 OT Jake Matthews
-Lined up at right tackle.
-Stays on his line, pushes Okafor past pocket.
-Effective using the cut block.
-Gets under Okafor and is able to generate some push in the run game.
-A little off balance, shoved to the ground by DT.
-Absorbs strong punch, re-sets and anchors.
-Beat outside, looked like a broken play.
-Pancakes DE, mauls him to the ground on run play.
-Gives up inside shoulder, beaten for TFL.
-Helping with the line calls at times.
-Good natural bender, moves well.
-Doesn’t quit on any play, finishes blocks until the whistle.
-Arms knocked down by Okafor, beat outside.

Overview: Matthews was also good, but he had a little more trouble sticking with Alex Okafor than Joeckel did with Jeffcoat. Matthews has a lot of potential and could declare for the 2013 NFL Draft as a junior.

#25 WR Ryan Swope
-Lining up mainly in the slot.
-Shakes corner on quick out route, drops easy catch.
-Bumped out of bounds on wheel route.
-Bubble screen, shows decent burst once he gets the ball.
-Sits down in the soft spot, easy catch.
-Crisp out route, gains separation and makes first down catch.
-Can’t fight off Vaccaro down the field, probably interfered with.

Overview: Kenny Vaccaro was all over Swope and the short passing game wasn’t very effective against Texas. Not one of Swope’s best games but he is a very reliable slot receiver.

#7 WR Uzome Nwachukwu
-Lining up as outside receiver.
-Drifts on his route, nearly results in interception – needs to come back to the ball.
-Snags ball away from body, protects it and spins for the first down.
-Makes a man miss after quick hitch, YAC picks up the first down.
-Back shoulder throw, fought through defender but couldn’t bring it in.

Overview: Made one good run after the catch but was otherwise held in check the majority of the night.

#19 TE Michael Lamothe
-Lined up as H-Back and tight end.
-Good drive on DE as inline blocker.
-Doesn’t get enough of Jeffcoat and allows TFL, barely chipped him and moved on.

Overview: Lamothe wasn’t involved in the passing game and was only average as a blocker.

#33 RB Christine Michael
-Injured, out for the game.

Overview: The talented running back should be back to full-strength in 2012.

Out of Sean Porter Damontre Moore Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat who impresses you the most? From the sounds of it Porter and Moore sounded like they had a better game but is that because of the quality of the Oline they faced compared to what Okafor and Jeffcoat faced.